Sacrifice
by Dubya
Summary: He knew it was bad, but he didn’t care. The feeling of relief he felt in his heart greatly overpowered that of the intense pain he felt in his gut. Every single drop of blood he shed was worth it… as long as she was safe.  NaruSaku OneShot.


Hey! This is my first fan fiction ever. I decided to try a one shot for starters, but I might make it a two shot. So if I screw up or something, please be gentle with your reviews. Thanks!

I decided to update this fic to give the reader a better grasp of what's happening. It's less vague than before. Hopefully you will find this NEW and IMPROVED version to your liking. Enjoy.

I do NOT own Naruto... and that makes me angry.

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SACRIFICE

He knew it was bad, but he didn't care. The feeling of relief he felt in his heart greatly overpowered that of the intense pain he felt in his gut. Every single drop of blood he shed was worth it... as long as she was safe. His only regret was knowing he wouldn't be able to protect her for much longer.

Her breath caught in her chest as she braced herself for the fatal attack. She raised her arms in defense and closed her eyes tightly knowing it wouldn't be enough. A few seconds passed. She remained unharmed. All was silent until she heard the pitter patter of something liquid falling to the ground. She slowly opened her eyes, afraid of what they might find. She felt a variety of emotions when faced with the sight before her, but one stood out among the rest; Heartbreak.

Standing before her was her comrade and best friend, soaked in blood. She felt the tears well up in her eyes. The only thing she could manage to say as she finally exhaled was, "Naruto..." What she saw next caused fresh tears to cascade down her cheeks only to land in the steadily growing pool of blood before her.

Naruto wrapped his hands around the large blade that protruded from his abdomen. He vomited blood as he painfully and swiftly extracted the sword. Blood flowed freely from the gaping wound. He could faintly hear Sakura's quiet sobs coming from behind him and knew she was okay. The room seemed to spin as he struggled to focus on his enemy. He took a heavy step forward as his vision blurred. The entire world seemed to swirl around him and he felt himself slip into the clutches of darkness. The last words he could manage to whisper before hitting the ground were, "Sakura-chan... run."

She sat there in shock still trying to absorb what had just happened. Her eyes searched her surroundings, eventually resting on the one thing that mattered most to her. She focused all of her attention on the limp and bleeding form that was Naruto as she struggled to crawl towards him. As she approached him a series of horrible thoughts and questions plagued her mind. She hovered over the still figure lying in the crimson puddle, and with much effort turned him over on his back. She felt her stomach turn as her tear filled eyes gazed upon the profusely bleeding wound. She covered her mouth to prevent the vomit from escaping her esophagus. She knew she needed to focus on the task at hand. She grabbed Naruto's wrist and tested his pulse with her index and ring fingers. There was none. In a panic she placed her hands over the grotesque gash and began to pour her chakra into it. She neglected to notice the dark figure slowly approaching from behind.

Just as she began the healing process, she felt two cold hands constrict around her throat. The only sound that escaped from her mouth was a choked squeal as she was lifted off her feet by her assailant. She felt his grasp tighten as he muttered something along the lines of, "Don't worry. It will all be over soon."

_"Is this how it ends?"_ she asked herself. She had always imagined that if she were to die, her mind would be clouded with thoughts of past experiences and things left undone. However, as everything faded to black, she found herself thinking of one thing and one thing only. The boy that was dying just behind her.

Naruto stumbled through a dark, grimy place reminiscent of a sewer. He knew he had been here before. He trudged through the familiar corridors following the sound of painful growls that echoed throughout them. Eventually, he arrived in front of the towering cage which contained the Nine Tailed Beast. It glared at Naruto with both fury and pain visible in its malicious gaze. It angrily growled at him, "What the hell have you done you... little fool?" Naruto painfully chuckled and said between labored breaths, "So then... we really are... dying." The enormous beast grew furious at Naruto's lack of conern towards their dire situation. "You find it humorous... that because of your mortality... I am to suffer the consequences of your irrational actions!" It roared. "If I was not bound by this seal... I would take exquisite pleasure in crushing the life out of you."

"Yeah, yeah... just save your breath." said Naruto. "There's no changing what's happened, but I for one... am not willing to go down... without a fight. What do you say, you stupid fox?" There was no reply, only the labored breathing of the tailed beast could be heard from behind the iron bars. That's when Naruto heard it. A sharp and painful squeal traveled through the seemingly endless sewer. "Sakura-chan!" Naruto cried in desperation. "Please! I beg you... lend me your chakra one last time... please... For God's sake! I need you!" The fox gave no reply and all fell silent. Naruto felt the tears forming in the corners of his eyes when, in an instant, the room was flooded with red.

Just as Sakura felt herself slipping out of consciousness, she found that the pressure around her throat had suddenly lessened. She inhaled deeply as she fell to her knees, savoring the precious oxygen she had previously been denied. She clumsily turned around to see what had prompted her attacker to release his grasp. She gasped. Her eyes grew wide upon viewing the scene that was unfolding before her. There stood her Naruto, glowing a brilliant red, holding the enemy up by the throat with his left hand. The man spit blood as Naruto slowly dug his razor sharp nails into his esophagus. She looked on in astonishment as Naruto formed a Rasengan in his free hand plunged it into the bastard's heart. For the briefest of moments she felt that everything would be okay.

The red aura that engulfed Naruto's being slowly began to fade. He eased his grip on Kisame's neck until the lifeless blue corpse fell to the ground with a thud. All remained calm until Naruto was instantly re-acquainted with the horrible pain in his belly. Only now, having exhausted all energy, it caused him even greater suffering. No longer able to find the strength to stand, he fell backwards knowing full well death was eagerly waiting to take him. However, instead of painfully colliding with the cold stone floor, he found himself in Sakura's gentle embrace.

He wearily looked up and met her emerald gaze. She stared at his pale, bloodstained face. Upon seeing the life fading from his ocean blue eyes, she hung her head and began to weep again. He felt her warm tears as they kissed at his cold face and trickled down the sides. As all sense of feeling began retreating from his limbs, he lovingly gazed upon her soft, pink lips and imagined what they might taste like. He mustered all the strength he had left as he shakily, yet gently, caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. He struggled greatly to close the distance between their faces but to no avail. Fortunately, the effort was not needed as Sakura closed the distance for him and capture his dry lips with her own. The kiss seemed to last for an eternity, and despite everything his mind told him, Naruto truly felt alive. After a blissful moment, Sakura gently pulled away and solemnly looked Naruto directly in the eye. Her bottom lip quivered as she sorrowfully asked, "Why?"

His reply was simple. "Because... I love you... Sakura-chan..." he trailed off. His eyes fluttered a little before they finally closed... never to open again.

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So, that was it! I hope you all liked it. If not, that's fine too... I always appreciate constructive critisism, just not flames.


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